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Passenger films herself laughing as she goes down plane’s inflatable evacuation slide

Giggles can be heard during one woman’s ‘crazy experience’

Benjamin Parker
Friday 25 August 2023 12:11 BST
Comments
The slide was deployed after the plane burst its tyres
The slide was deployed after the plane burst its tyres (@johniquec/TikTok)

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A Delta Air Lines passenger has shared a video of herself laughing as she zoomed down a plane’s emergency slide, prompting many viewers to comment that they were envious of the experience.

After a tyre burst when landing, passengers on flight 1437 from Richmond, Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia, were forced to exit the aircraft via the inflatable evacuation slide.

One traveller took the opportunity to film the experience, sharing the video to TikTok – which has already been viewed more than one million times.

“Soooo this happened the other day on my flight,” wrote TikTok user @johniquec, adding that it was a “crazy experience” but that she was “honestly so thankful that it wasn’t worse [than] it was.”

The location tag is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport.

In the video, a member of cabin crew can be heard repeatedly saying “come forward” before telling those onboard: “Come this way. Leave everything. Jump and slide.”

The passenger filming laughs as she zooms down to the ground, and also exclaims “whoa” before being caught and helped to her feet at the slide’s end.

The video clearly shows a flat tyre – which she says was because the plane “landed so hard” – and liquid being sprayed onto the runway and landing gear from airport emergency vehicles.

In some follow-up clips, the passenger confirmed that Delta “definitely compensated” those affected, including offering a refund and covering meals and hotel stays where necessary.

Many of the people who watched the video shared how they’ve always wanted to exit a plane via the slide.

A user named Tia wrote that she’d “Lowkey always wanted to do that just never wanted the trauma behind having to use it”, to which @johniquec replied that it “definitely was an experience”.

Chantelle wrote: “Knowing the person I am… I would’ve asked to slide again.”

Another referenced the chuckling during the evacuation, writing: “Your laugh when you’re going down is everything.”

The Independent has contacted the airline for comment.

In a statement shared with Insider, a spokesperson for Delta said: “Initial reports indicate that one of the aircraft’s tyres blew upon landing and components of the landing gear were hot.

“Customers evacuated via emergency slides and were moved to the terminal via bus. We apologise to each for this experience – nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew.”

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